MMWR News Synopsis
Friday, January 31, 2020
HIV Testing Outcomes Among Blacks or African Americans — 50 Local U.S. Jurisdictions Accounting for the Majority of New HIV Diagnoses and Seven States with Disproportionate Occurrences of HIV in Rural Areas, 2017
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
Locally-tailored, evidence-based HIV prevention programs, especially those for African Americans in Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) jurisdictions, are critical for reducing HIV-related disparities and achieving the goals of EHE. HIV prevention programs focused on implementing locally-tailored, evidence-based testing, linkage, and treatment strategies for African Americans would help to achieve the goal to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. African Americans represent 13% of the U.S. population, yet in 2017, accounted for 43% of new HIV diagnoses. Identifying people who are unaware of their HIV status and linking them to care are important steps for achieving viral suppression and reducing the risk of transmitting HIV. CDC analyzed 2017 HIV testing, partner services and linkage to care data from Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) jurisdictions and found that these jurisdictions accounted for more than 6 in 10 of all CDC-funded tests conducted and new HIV diagnoses identified. Of these, African Americans accounted for nearly half of those tested and newly diagnosed. Additionally, African Americans also accounted for more than half of previously diagnosed persons not known to be in care. Though 79% of African Americans newly diagnosed with HIV in these areas were linked to HIV medical care within 90 days, it is below the goal of 85% linked within 90 days of diagnosis. This analysis shows that prevention programs in EHE jurisdictions are critical to eliminating HIV-related disparities and achieving the goals of EHE.
Syndromic Surveillance of Suicidal Ideation and Self-Directed Violence — United States, January 2017–December 2018
CDC Media Relations
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The first report by CDC to use syndromic surveillance data to monitor trends in suicidal thoughts and self-harm behaviors revealed that emergency department (ED) visits for suicidal thoughts or self-harm increased 25.5% from January 2017 to December 2018. Suicide is a growing public health problem in the United States. However, deaths from suicide represent only a small part of a larger problem, as each year millions of people experience suicidal thoughts and engage in suicidal and non-suicidal self-directed violence – both risk factors for suicide. Emergency departments (EDs) are an important setting for monitoring these outcomes in near real-time. This analysis of CDC’s National Syndromic Surveillance Program data showed that ED visit rates related to suicidal thoughts or self-harm increased significantly (over 25%) from January 2017 to December 2018 among males and females and in most U.S. regions.
Anhydrous Ammonia Chemical Release — Lake County, Illinois, April 2019
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
Clear communication is necessary during an emergency response, especially to reduce exposure risks to first responders and healthcare personnel. An accidental residential area release of anhydrous ammonia gas, used as an agricultural fertilizer, resulted in multiple emergency room evaluations and further hospitalizations, including some severe cases. Due to environmental conditions at the time of the incident, this dangerous gas could condense on skin and clothes of exposed patients, prolonging exposure and respiratory symptoms for not only patients, but also for first responders and healthcare workers. First responders, community residents, and hospital staff reported communication challenges. Confusion among dispatchers about the source of the “smoke” led to a delay in recognizing this as a hazardous ammonia release and resulted in the first responders initially not using the appropriate protective equipment. The resulting investigation highlighted the very real need for clear communication during an emergency response, especially to reduce the risks of secondary exposures that resulted in five ICU healthcare providers needing treatment.
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day — February 7, 2020
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
Trends in opioid prescribing in 11 states during 2010-2016 indicate improvements in physician prescribing practices. These encouraging trends may have resulted from federal and state policies instituted in these states. Prescription Drug Monitoring Program surveillance data can be utilized to track state level trends in opioid prescribing practices. An in-depth analysis of such trends in 11 states during 2010-2016 revealed encouraging trends in several key prescribing behaviors, including opioid prescribing rates, mean daily dosage, high daily dosage (>90 MME), percentage of opioid-benzodiazepine overlapping prescriptions, and multiple-provider episode rates. Differences in these trends between the 11 states may reflect different state policies on opioid prescribing practices, or differential implementation of federal policies. Comparison of opioid prescribing trends among states is ideal for assessing the impact of national or state policy interventions and might help public health policymakers recognize changes in the use of controlled prescription drugs over time and allow for prompt intervention through amended or new opioid-related policies.
The North Carolina Division of Public Health, along with academic collaborators and county health departments, has taken an active role in entomologic surveillance for Ixodes scapularis ticks and determining their infection status with Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. The North Carolina Division of Public Health and its collaborators are defining the areas where Borrelia-infected I. scapularis ticks are present; they have been confirmed in the northwestern part of the state. The recent discovery of I. scapularis ticks at an outdoor wilderness camp infected with the causative agent of Lyme disease (B. burgdorferi) highlights the importance of vector borne disease prevention. The NC DPH wants to remind residents that the best way to manage Lyme disease is prevention. The use of permethrin-treated clothing and EPA approved repellents like DEET can prevent tick bites and Lyme disease in people who spend time outdoors.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.
